Rock Island daily Argus., 1887-10-22

provides that 1t J. RANDOLPH TUCKER
shall not be canSe of challenge that juror
has read in the newspapers an account OF the
commission of the crime with which the
prisoner is charged, nor shall the fact
that juror has formed an opinion
or impression based upon rumor or
newspaper articles disqualify him If he shall
state upon oath that he believes he can fairly
and impartially render a verdict in accord
ance with the law and evidence, and the
court shall he satisfied Of the truth of such |
statement Gen. Pryor said that the jury
which tried his clients was organized under
this statute, and he maintained that the
statute was in conflict with the Federal con-
stitution and with the constitution of Illinois,
and that it operated to deprive the accused
of trial by an ''impartial jury that it
abridged the privileges and immunities of the
accused as citizens of the United States and
that it deprived them of life, liberty, etc,
without due process of law
A remark made by Grief Justice Waite to
Mr.. Pryor, during the course of the latter's
argument, that the only question for the su-
preme court to consider is the validity of the
Illinois statute prescribing qualifications for
jurors, is taken to indicate that the court
will consider only that one point. The court
directed Mr. Pryor to have printed at once
the parts of the record which represented
these questions, and have the printed copies
ready for submission to the court as soon as
possible Further directions, if necessary,
would, the chief Justice said, be given on
Monday next.
The grounds of the appeal are more fully
developed by the position of Mr.. Tucker. He
relies largely upon the provision of the four
teenth amendment to the constitution, that
mo state shall make or enforce any la which
shall abridge the privileges immunities OF
citizens of the United States, nor shall any
state deprive any person Of life, liberty, or
property without due process of law, nor de-
ny to any person within its jurisdiction the
equal protection of the laws"
In the opinion Of Mr.. Tucker this provision
of the constitution is violated in many i'm
portant respects by the state laws and judi
cial practices under which the Anarchists
were condemned. His first claim is that the
words -due process of law" involve trial by
jury, right which counsel claim to have
been denied the Anarchists. inasmuch as the
jury was composed of men preiudiced
against the defendants, convinced in advance
OF their guilt and determined upon convic-
tion.
This is based upon the fact that more than
one juror was accepted who declared that
he had been convinced of the guilt of
the defendants, and had expressed the
opinion that they should be hung but
that he would be hound by the evidence.
Such juror, it is claimed, was incapable of
rendering an impartial verdict, and trial by
such jurors was in fact no trial by jury at
all. After the psremptOry challenges of the
defense were exhausted, all jurors impaneled
were legally disqualified, and cannot be rec
ognized as Jurors within the meaning of law
When the panel was exhausted, it is claimed
that law was further violated by the instruc-
ton of the court that additional jurors ne
summoned from "the best citizens of Cook
county" and the consequent summoning of
bankers and merchants A trial by their
peers was thus denied to the Anarchists.
Another point raised is that the record
shows that an exception was at one time noted
to ruling of the court as being in violation
Of the state aud federal constitutions This ex-
ception being recognized by the court it is
claimed that shis fact alone gives jurisdiction
70 the United States supreme court
The great point at issue is definition
asked for the first time from the United
btass supreme court, of the words "due
process Of law, and their relation to the lib
erty of th citizen, and the claim for the first
time made that the United States supreme
court must take cognizance Of an appeal
based upon the admission to a Jury of i'm
proper jul ors.